Meghan makes on-stage ‘confession’ about life with Prince Harry

“Confession I can share with you”: The couple has been at the centre of plenty of speculation, and Meghan has addressed it directly.

Meghan has opened up about her marriage to Prince Harry, insisting she’s the “happiest” she’s “ever been” during a panel appearance in New York City.

The couple stepped out together at the Time100 Summit at the Lincoln Center on Wednesday, mingling with other high-profile guests including Ryan Reynolds and Demi Moore.

Meghan, who was a keynote speaker at the event, was asked by Time’s Chief Executive Jessica Sibley to share a “confession” on stage, in a nod to her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.

“A confession I can share with you today is that I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” she replied.

“To have a husband and a partner who is so supportive and kids who are healthy and happy, I never imagined at this point I would feel so happy and grateful, and I really do.”

Meghan also addressed backlash she faced earlier this year for not filming her cooking and lifestyle series in her own home.

“People said, ‘Why didn’t you film the show in your house?’” she told Sibley.

“I said, ‘My kids are coming home for their nap.’ Eighty people in the kitchen isn’t really the childhood memory I would love for them to have.”

Meghan spoke during a panel for Time100. Picture: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME

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It’s been a busy year already for the duchess, who – along with her With Love, Meghan show – has launched her podcast and her online shop, As Ever.

Describing this period as “incredibly busy and ambitious”, Meghan admitted she had made “mistakes”.

“You see it all come to life and try to give yourself the space and the grace to make mistakes, to know you’re not doing it right every day.”

She added that she’s constantly under a “microscope” and facing “scrutiny”, but explained that she makes a “very conscious effort to create boundaries for herself, her wellbeing and mental health.”

Part of keeping perspective when she doesn’t “get it right” is focusing on her role as a mother to Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.

“Something that is seemingly so big somehow becomes so microscopic in importance compared to what’s happening with my children,” Meghan said.

The couple appeared together at the event. Picture: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for TIME

She gushed over Harry while on stage. Picture: James Devaney/GC Images

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Despite being a speaker at this year’s Time event, Meghan – as well as Harry – failed to make the magazine’s list of top 100 most influential people this year.

Meghan had previously been named in the 2018 and 2021 lists.

Her panel chat came just days after she opened up on her podcast about the name drama that plagued the launch of her brand earlier this year, which saw her have to change it from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever.

She also recently opened up about her brand launch drama. Picture: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for TIME

The US Patent and Trademark Office had ruled that geographical locations could not be patented, meaning she had to scrap the original name.

American Riviera is a nickname for Santa Barbara, where Meghan lives with Prince Harry and their two children.

However, addressing it on the latest episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder this week, Meghan insisted she had actually gone off the idea of the original brand name, American Riviera Orchard, prior to the trademark issues.

“You remember, I said, ‘I like American Riviera as an umbrella,’ and then be able to have verticals beneath it,” she told her guest, hair colourist, business owner, and “dear friend”, Kadi Lee.

“And maybe have the ‘Orchard’ really small. But when that’s not feasible … suddenly it became this word salad. I didn’t love that so much.

“I was like, ‘OK, let’s go back to the thing that I’ve always loved. Let’s use the name that I protected for a reason that had sort of been under wraps’.

“And then we were able to focus in the quiet and put our heads down and build on something that no one was sniffing around to even see about. It was really just helpful to have that quiet period.”

Originally published as Meghan makes on-stage ‘confession’ about life with Prince Harry